Willem-Alexander Prince of Orange: Encyclopedia II - Willem-Alexander Prince of Orange - Marriage

Willem-Alexander Prince of Orange - Marriage

On February 2, 2002, he married Máxima Zorreguieta (born 1971), an Argentine woman of French, Spanish, and Italian ancestry who, prior to their marriage, worked as an investment banker in New York City. In choosing her, the prince continued the Dutch monarchy's tradition of choosing a controversial partner.

Like all Dutch monarchs, Prince Willem-Alexander is a nominal member of the Protestant Dutch Reformed church but, unlike the highly controversial 1964 marriage to a Roman Catholic by his aunt, Princess Irene, religion was not a major issue in the Prince's marriage. However, under the British Act of Settlement, Prince Willem-Alexander forfeited his (distant) succession rights to the British throne, because he married a Catholic.

Rather, the issue of Máxima's father, Jorge Horacio Zorreguieta Stefanini was rather sensitive: Mr. Zorreguieta was a civilian member of the Videla regime, a brutal military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. As a result of the controversy, Mr. Zorreguieta was not allowed to attend the royal wedding.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Marriage", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki